


Anniversary

by SquigglyAverageJoe



Series: Will you? [2]
Category: The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords
Genre: Fainting, I just wanted to write something, M/M, Marriage Proposal, No Sex, Restaurants, Wine, and this is what I have to show, just mentions of it, that wasn’t smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:40:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24059122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SquigglyAverageJoe/pseuds/SquigglyAverageJoe
Summary: Vio and Shadow celebrate their anniversary.
Relationships: Shadow Link/Vio Link
Series: Will you? [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1665022
Kudos: 29





	Anniversary

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just did some editing—I realized that the beginning of this was in past tense, but then the rest was present tense. Should be fixed now.

It seems like Vio’s pushing himself very hard recently—ever since Shadow moved in with him, he started talking about the future, and it’s all very sweet, Shadow loves it when he talks like that, but he’s started working forty five hours a week, working on Saturday, aiming for that promotion and Shadow—who has just recently been laid off from his job along with forty other people due to budget cuts and is looking for work elsewhere—is starting to feel more like a stereotypical house wife than Vio’s boyfriend.

It isn’t that there is anything wrong with being a housewife, or as Shadow likes to call them, housespouses (housewife just comes to his mind because that’s what the main character of a book he’s being reading with Vio is) because yes, some people just might not want to work, might feel comfortable staying at home, might like doing chores and cooking or whatever, but Shadow just feels like a burden and feels like he starts cleaning the kitchen and then Vio’s home and all he would have to show’s a single dish. And Vio kisses his forehead, congratulateS him and tellS him to go rest while he finishes up. He feels exhausted, trying to take on more so he doesn’t feel like he’s such a burden on Vio, but he’s beginning to feel like the stereotypical housewife—the one that’s battered and tired and doesn’t really want to be a housewife but does anyway. So, not a house spouse, just a maid. A really bad maid.

His metaphor (or maybe simile?) isn’t his best metaphor, but that’s what comes to mind. Why he’s comparing himself to an exhausted housewife makes no sense to him, he is pretty sure he spends too much time reading Vio’s books than washing the dishes.

And then Vio’s home, exhausted, puts a frozen lasagna in the oven, collapses on the couch while Shadow says something like, ‘oh, we’re having lasagna tonight? I could have put that in, I could have made dinner, Vio,” and Vio mumbles something like, “It’s fine,” Shadow tries to kiss him, Vio starts because he has actually begun to fall asleep, they eat their still cold lasagna and Shadow tries to kiss Vio again and they would kiss but by the time Shadow starts to take his clothes off, Vio’s already asleep and then he’s gone at like, eight in the morning.

Needless to say, Shadow does not like any of this.

Why should his precious love do all that work, maintaining their apartment while Shadow is totally fucking useless? He needs to do something for Vio, something good...

And that’s what lead to their first ever actual argument.

“What do you _mean_ you’re gonna work on our anniversary?” Shadow asks. He doesn’t want to pick a fight—him and Vio don’t really fight—their arguments are sorted through relatively quickly and they’re smart about the disagreements. This is weird.

Vio sighs. “I’m sorry, Shadow—but I need to pick up a shift for Blue.”

“But it’s our _anniversary._ Our second one! This is a big deal!”

“It is.” He cups his face. “But I need to do this. I’m getting paid overtime. I’ll still have your anniversary present all ready.” He runs a hand through Shadow’s hair. “And you don’t have to worry about getting me anything, since...”

“Fuck my present, I want you! We should be together!”

“I can take you out for dinner this weekend,” he says, but he says it like this is a fair exchange and like he’s only doing it to appease Shadow. “I’ll buy you anything you want...We can get a bottle of wine. I’ll buy you dessert.”

“Or you can not work on our anniversary. And watch some movies with me on the couch. And we can drink cheap beer and eat popcorn and make out and love each other.”

At least Vio looks tempted. “We’ll do both of those things this weekend.”

“But you work Saturday.”

“Oh.” He bites his lip. “Right. We’ll do one of those things next weekend.”

Shadow crosses his arms and huffs—he’s getting angry, but usually, he could talk these sorts of things out with Vio. “You’ve been spending so much time at work. I feel like I never get any quality time with you. Do you not want to see me anymore?”

“Oh, Shadow.” He reaches out and cups his face. “I loved it when you were working.” Their workplaces had been right beside each other. They would meet in the parking lot and go get fast food, and feed each other French fries. Sometimes they had a quickie in the backseat, but Shadow enjoyed just eating with Vio, pecking him on the lips and licking the salt off of his own, laughing and talking shit about coworkers. And then they’d go home together and watch an episode of a tv show before dinner and clean up together and then go to bed, sleeping in each other’s arms. “I loved being around you. But I don’t have enough time to come home during lunch and see you, and I know you’re gonna be here when I get home. That’s why I work these hours. I have you to come home to, you help me get through the day.”

“It feels like you’re never coming home,” Shadow sighs. “And since I’m not working, I just feel useless.”

“Don’t feel useless.” He cups his face. “You have your uses.” He smiles and boops his nose, but it doesn’t change anything. “Don’t worry, once you start working, I’ll take less hours and...” He trails off. No job will be as good as Shadow’s last job—so close to Vio, letting him take a one hour lunch at eleven on the hour...It isn’t fair. He had been good at the job! He had worked hard for two years! Always on time! Always decent to the customers! Even the ones that fucking sucked!

“I need you,” Shadow says. “I want you, Vio.”

“I want you too.” Shadow pulls away. “But this is how things are for right now. And it’s okay. We’re gonna get through this. ...And we’ll celebrate our anniversary later.”

“Do you not want to celebrate our anniversary?”

“Of course I do!” Vio exclaims “You know you’re my whole world, Shadow.”

“Can you take a day off for your whole world?”

Vio kisses his temple. “I can’t—I can’t because I want to keep my whole world safe and happy and...It’ll make sense later.”

Shadow looks at him—he says it like Shadow’s just a child who’s seen something too complicated for his tiny child brain to comprehend. “Your whole world doesn’t feel too happy right now.”

His arm wraps around his waist. “Do you think my whole word will forgive me if I promise to make it up to it?”

A shiver runs down his spine. “Oh, definitely.” He wraps his legs around Vio’s waist and kisses him gently. When Vio opens his mouth, he thinks for sure this is the beginning of a make out session—then he pulls away to yawn. “You’re joking.”

Vio looks guilty. “I’m sorry, love. These shifts have been kicking my ass...” He runs a hand through his hair. “If you want, we can still—“

“No,” Shadow says. “I do not want you falling asleep while we’re having sex.” He adds, “Again.” He sighs and grabs the black blanket they have at the foot of the bed. “I’m sleeping on the couch.”

“Oh, Shadow, love...” Vio sits up and grabs his shoulder. “...I’m sorry, okay? I love you, baby. I really do.”

“I know.” He does know. “Just...I want to be alone right now, okay?”

Vio sighs. “I’ll make it up to you, love. I promise. It’s just—since tomorrow is so important to you and me I don’t want you to be angry tomorrow at me.”

“I won’t be.” He walks out into their living room. It isn’t his first time sleeping on the couch—but it is his first doing it because he doesn’t want to sleep in bed with Vio. Usually it’s because Vio’s tired and trying to sleep, so Shadow would kiss him on the forehead and go out into the living room and watch TV or something and eventually fall asleep. It feels wrong.

In the morning, he awakes for only a minute to feel a kiss on his forehead. He murmurs something. “I love you, my darling,” Vio says, gently.

When Shadow awakens, he glances around and sighs. He had still kind of hoped Vio would stay home today. Why didn’t Vio want to spend their anniversary together? “He’s totally gonna break up with me,” he says, sighing. He should have seen this coming. He is jobless. He is a waste of space. He is too needy and clingy. Vio is too good for him. 

He spends the majority of the day moping.

When Vio comes back, he is smiling. He looks at Shadow, with a grocery bag in hand. “Hey, angel. You feeling alright?”

No—but with Vio, he can’t help but to smile. He savors it, certain he’ll never see him like this again. “Yes,” he says. He glances at the bag in his hand. “What’d you buy?”

Vio smirks and turns to his bag, placing it on the table. “Did you like your present?”

“What present?” He asks.

He hears Vio snort. “Ha, very funny, Shadow. What do you say?”

“...Vio, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Slowly, Vio turns back to him. “You don’t?”

“No?”

Vio looks at the coffee table. “I...” He looks back at Shadow. “...Alright, change of plans—don’t look at those grocery bags or say anything, I’m gonna go look for it, I...I thought I gave it to you. Um...” Shadow nods. He has no idea what Vio is talking about, but he doesn’t say anything.

Vio kisses him gently on the temple. “Wait here, love.” He goes back into the bedroom. Shadow can hear him tearing the room apart, but he doesn’t do or say anything. He waits five minutes.

Then ten more. “Vio, love?” He calls out. “You okay?”

“Yes, gorgeous!” Vio shouts, not sounding okay. “Stay there!” There is muffled cursing.

Shadow gets bored. He’s gonna watch TV, at least, instead of looking at the black, empty screen, waiting. _Where’s the remote?_ He glances around. _Probably fell in between the couch cushions._ He slides his hand between the couch cushions and tries to find it. His fingers wrap around a hair brush. “So _that’s_ where that went!” He exclaims.

The door to the bedroom opens—behind Vio, Shadow can see he has torn the room apart. “What did you find?”

“A hair brush,” he answers. Vio looks disappointed. “...Do you need help finding it—“

“No, wait there! I’ll have it in a second!” The door closes. Vio is back to searching.

He rests that in his lap and goes back to searching, his fingertips wrap around something cube shaped. He frowns and pulls it out.

It’s small, black. Shadow gets the feeling he _should_ know what this means, but it’s like his entire mind has gone numb. “...Vio?” He calls.

There’s no response. Shadow’s about to panic—he doesn’t know why, but he’s about to. “Vio?”

“Hold on, babe! Just a sec!”

“No, I...” His heart is pounding. “I think I found it.”

There’s a moment of quiet—and then the door slams open and Vio is suddenly in front of him, eyes wide, flickering from Shadow’s and then back to the box in his hand. “Yep,” he says. “That’s...That’s it.”

Shadow doesn’t know what to say. “Can I...take that?” Vio takes it from his hands and then gets on his knees in front of him. “Um, I...I was going to just leave this on the table, I think. I might have put it on your chest or something, but, um...I wanted to give you time to think about it, and I know you’ve been unhappy recently. But, anyway, since none of that worked out, I...” Shadow isn’t sure if he’s breathing anymore. Vio clears his throat. “Shadow, with you losing your job and this being our second anniversary, I’ve really...I’ve really come to appreciate having you to come home to, but I don’t think I’ve shown it. I want to tell you, every day, that waking up in the morning and the first thing I see is your sleeping face, you pressed against my side...I love it, okay? And I love you. Shadow, will you—“

He doesn’t even get to finish—instead of throwing himself into Vio’s arms and screaming _YES!_ the world goes dark.

He didn’t know he was the type to faint, but when he comes to three minutes later, his fingers are laced into Vio’s. “...I think we need to try that again,” Vio says and Shadow grasps at his shirt.

“No, no, no, we...” He sits up. “We do not, I...I’m not gonna faint again, Vio, oh my goddesses, yes!” He takes the ring out of his hands and slides it on his middle finger. It’s the wrong finger, sure, but he admires it on his hand—it fits like it was made for him. “Oh, Vio...” He wraps his arms around Vio’s neck and kisses his cheek. His arms fit perfectly around his waist.

“So,” Vio smiles. “Safe to say you forgave me for not taking the day off?”

“No,” Shadow says. He runs a hand through his hair—it’s soft, brightens the entire room, he swears. “Definitely not. You’re gonna have to make it up to me.”

Vio’s smile turns into a grin. He kisses his temple. “Go take a shower and get dressed. I’ll take you out for dinner.”

“Can we do the proposal in public?” Shadow asks. “I want everyone to know I’m marrying you, and also—I think we’ll be able to get a free dessert out of it.”

Vio cups his face. “Anything for you, my darling.” He grabs Shadow’s hand, kisses it and slides the ring off. “I’ll call the others, we’ll make them split the bill with us—it’ll be fun.”

“Oh, I love you!” He doesn’t want to let go of Vio. “...Any chance you’ll come with me and help with that shower?”


End file.
